I’m a huge fan of natural building, urban homesteading and water conservation – among many other things – so I have been particularly interested in what four young women, all natural builders, have been exploring at Villa Sobrante. I got to know Lindsay, Massey, Sasha and Trilby through knitting nights at Artfibers (which they first [...]

Earlier this year I received 5 balls of Lion Cashmere for which I am very grateful but I didn’t know what to make with such small amounts. Each ball contains a mere 92 yards of 100% pure cashmere. Then it struck me as I was strolling through Target recently, saw granny square scarves for the [...]

News of David Hockney surfaced recently and I have to admit that I had forgotten all about this exceptional artist. I wasn’t even sure if he was still alive. I’m happy to report that Hockney is very much alive, living in England again and still smoking at the age of 72. Watching him smoke in [...]

Last Tuesday’s rainstorm and partial power outage provided a wonderful opportunity to start some gift knitting. I’m afraid there aren’t going to be too many handmade items this holiday season – I just don’t have as much free time as I used to – but here are two nascent projects. The orange piece is the [...]

Here’s another plea for help from your intrepid knitter. It finally got cold enough to wear a sweater but my beloved sweater quickly grew pills. Ok so yes, this is “cheap” wool that I use often (Paton’s Classic Wool Merino) and the entire sweater cost me less than $20, but I am ready to overcome [...]

Because I knit so much, I don’t read as often as I would like and my recent attempt with an audio book, as I reported here, was less than successful. The one thing I do read daily is the NYtimes.com and that’s where I read about  Nina Sankovitch, who has been reading one book per [...]

So much so that yesterday I downloaded Wake Up by Arcade Fire and I’ve been listening to it non-stop since then. [101609: I just discovered a blog entitled Terrible Yellow Eyes which is dedicated to works, mainly illustration, inspired by Where the Wild Things Are. Pretty cool.]

Noel contacted me recently requesting permission to sell felted bowls made from a pattern that I posted on this blog earlier this year. I said sure no problem and also offered to give a plug to her upcoming sale. So if you happen to be in Rhinebeck, New York, this weekend, stop by the New [...]

I actually sort of finished this blanket, a variation of the Log Cabin blanket, about a week ago but I didn’t make a grand announcement because I’ve been stuck at the edging. The directions according to Mason-Dixon Knitting say to pick up stitches all the around and knit four rows of garter stitch. That seems [...]

My new knitting friend and colleague, Antonia, mentioned finger knitting the other day and since I was subbing a second grade for a few days, I decided to try teaching it to the students. Needless to say the results were mixed. Many of the students groaned at the thought of knitting saying it was for [...]